Overshoe and method of making same



Nom-13,` 192s. l1,691,253 A F. T. RoBERTs Er AL ERSHQE lANI) METHOD 0FKAKINQSE l Filed March 28. 1925 s Sheets-sheet 1 Nav. 13,1928. y

F. T. RoBER-rs Er AL 0VERSHOE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed March 28.1925 :s sheets-sheet 2 FIG.- 5

F. T. RoBERTs ET' AL ovERsHoE Aun METHOD oF MAKING sua Nov..l3, 1928.

s sheets-sheet Filed Haren 28. 1925 T-negm Patented Nov. 13, 192,8.

n f UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRED THo'MAs ROBERTS, or YoNxBRs, AND ALBERT J.. ELDON, or MOUNTvnRNON',

NEW YORK, AssrGNORs To PARAMOUNT RUBBER CONSOLIDATED, INO., or TUcxA-HOE, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OFJJELAWRE.

OVERSHOE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME.

l AppIieation led March 28, 1925. Serial No. 18,933.

This invention relates to a method of manufacturing sheet rubberfootwear, as overshoes, gaiters, sandals etc. as well as the articlethus'produced, which is made up of a suitable sole and a thin elasticupper, the parts of which are joined together at the front and to theedges of the sole by seams formed mechanically under pressure, afterwhich the article is vulcanized.

In accomplishing the desired result of rapidly and economically cuttingout of the parts and joining them by machinery, wek avail ourselves ofan invention by the present applicant F. T. Roberts, described andclaimed' in his application No. 712,505, filed May 12th,

1924. That application sets forth an Operation involving thesuperimposing of two sheets of rubber and the insertion between them,for .a portion of their area, of a dou` bled sheet with its openingbetween its leaves facing outwardly, and cuttingethrough such pile ofsheets with an outline die which is formed to join each outer sheet toone layer of the doubled sheet where the doubled sheet -is present andinanother region join the two Outer sheets directly together. In `suchOp-v eration, raw rubber stock is employed which` vis treatedNso that itwill not adhere except under pressure. l Starting with the Robertsprocess above briefly described, we have' discovered that it may beadapted for the efficient manufacture of footwear by providing the topand bottom sheetsA of thepile suitable for the upper of theovershoe, andinsert a suitable doubled `piece for the sole, which doubled piece afterthe article is cut out is folded flat transversely of the sheets, afterwhich the partsare vulcanized.

the outline or circuitous die which does the cutting and seaming of aform which in certain' regions makes a seam between the `sheets and cutsthrough them beyond .the

seam and in another region cuts through sheets without making a-seam,'\we can make.

the necessary junctions while leaving the article open at the top and atthe heel' portion,

and at the back if desired. By this yery simple means, we make a rubberovershoe, gaiter heavier sole to receive theJ wear while an opening is'provided for thesh hea. The overshoelthus produced is light enough to bereadily folded and carried in ones pocketor hand bag, while it-haswearing qualities sufficient to make it effective as a temporaryprotection for shoes.

Various refinements of our invention, as i well as its more essentialfeatures, will be ap- 00 parent from the description hereinafter givenof the preferred method of Operation and the illustrations of various'forms of i" footwear resulting therefrom.

In the dra-wings, 1 is a bottom plan "55 of a cutting die specificallyfor use in making a gaiter with a ,leg portion, this view illustratingin broken lines the' osition of the doubled insert for the sole; ig. 2is an enlarged `cross-section on the line 2--2 on 70 Fig. 1; Fig. 3v isan enlar ed cross-section onlarger scale of the gaiter after certainreinforcements have been applied Fig. Sisadetail in cross-sectionthrough such gaiter, as indicated by. the line 8-8 on Fig. 7; Fig. 9 isa A prspectlve of av rubber sandal which may 35 made by the same method;Fig. 10 is a cross-section of such sandal on the line 10-10 2of.Fig.9;Fig. 11 is a. plan of a die for cut ting out a gaiter which opens at theback; Fig. 12 isa perspective of such gaiter show- 90 ing the-backprovided with snap fasteners We have also discovered that by makingv forholding it together; Fig. 13 is a cross-section ofthe gaiter of Fig.`12, as indicated by the line 13-4-13 on that figure.

of surmounting sheets from l,which the article is cut and joined in oneoperation. This pile comprises a top sheet of rubber 10, a bottom sheet11, an intermediate doubled sheet 12,havin'g its itwo leaves separatedby' a'. -100 paper separator 13, and the whole pile rest- `'mg on abottom sheet ofpa-per 14. or sandal having a thm elastic upper and a yThe cutting die, shown at 20 in Fi 1, 2`

ing an effective junction.

havingla course corresponding approximate- .platen 30 of a suitablepress and coacts with the smooth top surface of a lower platen 31. Thedie is shown as provided with suitable means for securing it to the topplaten, namely, ears 21 through which screws 22 pass into e platen. f*

The die shown in Fig. 1 hasv a front concave reach 23, a bottom or soleconve-x reach 24 and a back reach 25, all of which portions have theiractive edges inwardly beveled (as indicated at 26 in Fig. 2, or 29 inFig. 3), while the rest of the die comprises a concave heel portion 27and a straight top-portion 28 which are'formed with sharp edges to cutthrough the material. l l

It results from the peculiar `formation of the die 'described that wherethere is the in- 25 and 24, an effective seam is formed by the pressureof the dies-between the adjacent rubber'leaves while the excess materialis cut olf outsideof such seam, while the sharp portions 27 and 28 cutthrough the material without forming a seam.

It will beseen from an inspection of Figs. 2 and 3 that the bevel 26 ofthe die portions 23 and 25 is comparatively slight, but is suficient tofirmly press a portion of each sheet beneath such bevel into the othersheet form- Atthe portion where the sole is inserted, and four sheets aswell as the separator in the doubled sheet are cut through, the bevel 29on the face of the die is considerably steeper. In each case the.

bevel inclines inwardly toward the upper platen 30, and thus while itsoutermost edge cuts through the stock into the paper sheet 14 the faceof the bevel effects the seam. In contradistinction to this thereaches27 and k28 of the die have their inside edges substan tiallyvertical and their external bevels are simply sufficient to provideproper material for the die itself.

' It will be seen that such adie as described not only cuts out anoutline of the gaiter or other article of footwear, but joins the sideportions directly together and also forms 'two seams betwee the sidesandl opposite edges of the sole glortion. The soleportion is preferablymade considerably thicker than the rest of the material, as indicated inFigs. 3 and 8. After the sheets have been assembled,

`under hydraulic pressure, the press is closed,

insert in it, through .the'space at' the rear long leg and still be veryreadily applied.

thereof, a` temporary sole formerO, which may readily be a maintain thesole zation.

Before vulcanization. we apply suitableY reinforces to the article,primarily strips of at .until after vulcani.-

vrubber cemented in place over the seams. Thus, we apply one strip (Fig. V7) at the front, another one at 51 at the back, a strip 52extending about'the top of the gaiter, one 53 extending about thejunction at the sides and sole, and a strip 51 about the heel'opening.The strips 50 and 51 are approximately flat; the-strip 52 and 54 doubled"on themselves, and the strip 53 bentat right angles to itself, as willbe apparent from Figs. 7 and. 8. A small "reinforcement 55 may be pieceof lpaste-board, to

.added'at .the toe over the junctions of the.

strips 50 and 53.

The reinforcements are preferably pressed into place by a suitable handroller, the seamed parts being supported at the time by an insideformer, which may be no more than properly formed bars or rods to resistthe pressure.

After the article has beeny cut out, joined and reinforced asdescribed,'it is vulcanized in any suitable manner, as by heat, vaporcure or acid cure. We find during such vulcanization it is not necessaryto mount the article on any special form. The whole operation of formingthe article and curing it may be accordingly done very cheaply andquickly.

Fig. 7 shows one form of footwear4 which i strips are applied asseamsand also at the open top and heel portions, as villustrated in Fig.9.

Figs. 12 and 13 illustrate still another form 'of footwear, somewhatsimilar to the gaiter of Fig. 7 but being op'en at the back. The. die 70for forming such gaiter 6 is illustrated in Fig. 11. It has the seamingportions 71` and 72 for the front and Sole, and cutting portions\73, 74and 75 for the top, back and-heel parts. We thus produce a gaiter havingthe' sole 76, the 'same as the first described gaiter,

but having the two side portions 77 `.disconnected atthe back.: One ofthese portions.. then has its "edge doubled outwardly ontoitself to makea reinforcement shown at 78, theother has its edge doubledi wardlytomake the reinforcement; 79. These ,two reinforced edges may then beprovided with the corresponding members of snapl fasteners 8O f and .81,thus making a' gaiter open at the rear andadapted to be readily put inplace. Such gaiter if desired may have acomparatively which may be madeb our process. It will j paits to the sole and make the necessaryvjuncvtreated with suiiicient soa them to firm y adhere when pressed byi has its upper of light thin rubber and its sole Yly efficient forprotection Iagainst the tic 'material comprising s'uperimposing a`sheets without forming a seam all at Kthe same lthe front o andsimultaneously joinin bya cut seam, each sheet of the pair to t eadjacent layer of Jthe doubled sheet, and at the same time bers of theair in certain regions, joining the two mem er's of the pair together inother regions, and cutting lthrough such members of the pair withoutjoining them in still other regions. v

4.' The method of making rubber footwear consisting of superimposing apair of sheets of rubber `with an intermediate dou- 1,. The different-forms of footwear shown are to be taken as illustrative of any form beseen that in all the orms shown, one operation of the die is suiicientto join the top tions between the top arts, and to cut out such joinedbody from t ie surplus rubber.

The beveled edges which cut andjoin the sole to the side (24, Fig. 1;72, Fig. 11) are bowed utwardly approximately as shown to give'suiiicient width and the proper shape to the sole. The doubled portionof rubber inserted/for the sole is placed so that the fold l15 lies in aline adapted to intersect the junction of the front and sole-seaminedges of the die. This doubled insert is a so placed so that the rearedgel is in position adapted to intersect the junction of the soleportion 24 and the cutting heel portion 27 of the die. This position ofthe doubled portion causes the fold'to come at all times beneath the topseam to the very point of the seam, also causes the rear portion of theforming sole to extend substantially1 straight across the shoe.

Our met od of manufacture is, simple, and rapid in its operation, andmay be used to produce a variety of footwear, as indicated by the fewillustrations given. IThe rubber stock employed is preferably raw rubberstone or starch to preventv the sheets norma ly" adhering when placedonv to yof each other, but enabling joining, by a cut seam, each sheetof the pair to the adjacent layer of the doubled sheet, and at the sametime cutting throu h the two sheets of the pair beyond the dou led sheetwithout forming a seam at the margiij. cut through, and thereaftervulc'anizing the joined article.

. prising superimposing a pair of rubber sheets :and by pressure in onedirection forming a cut seam between each sheet of said pair and theadjacent layer of the doubled sheet in one region, and in another regionforming a `cut seam directly between two sheets of the pair, and instill another region cutting forming a seam.all at the same time.

' 6. The method of making articles of plastic material comprising takingapair of coming between-them a doubled sheet of comparatively thickstock with its fold facing jacent sheets and at the same time formingheavy hydraulic vpressure 'supplied by the press. he footwear producedpreferably of materially heavier stock. It is accordingand theadjacentsheets. weather, but is also adapted to be readily folded vintoa smalll compass when not in use;

Having thus described our inventiomwe claim: z

l. The method of making articlesv of plajstively thin sheets of rubber,placing between them a doubled sheet of thicker stock with its f oldfacing outwardly, such doubled sheet being suitable for a sole, cuttingout the series ofsheets, and by pressure forming in one region vaplurality of surmounting vcut seams, in another region a single cutseam, and in still another region a severance of seam the doubled sheetto the adjacent sheets at the edges of the sole and atthe same timeforming a 'unction of sheets of said. pair atl fl the upper. t

= 8. The method of making articles ofplastie material comprising lacinga'doubled sheet between a portion To two outer sheets, cut'- time. f l f2. The method of making articles of plastic material comprising superimlosing a pair of sheets with an intermediate oubledsheet outline diewhich in the region common to the doubled sheet and the two outsidesheets forms a air of cut seams between them respective y, and4 inanother regions cuts "through the two outer sheets without forming aseam.-`

cutting through tlie'twoisheets of the pair beyond the doubled sheet,without forming a seam at the margin cut through;

3. The method of making articles o f plastic material comprisinginserting a `dou= bled sheet between two sheets of a pair, and by `aVsingle movement joining, by a cut seam, the doubled sheet to theadjacent inem- 'ber', cutting through such pile of ,sheets by a singleoutline die which `in the region comwith an intermediate doubled rubbersheet,

through the two sheets of the pair Iwithout paratively thin sheets ofsuch material, plac- 7. ',The methodof making rubber fgot-Awearcomprising takin@r a pair of comparaf article and at the saine timejoiningf by a cut 9. The' method. of making rubber articles' comprisingplacing a doubled sheet of rubber between a lportion of two outer sheetsof rubbled sheet of rubber, and simultaneously 5'. The method of makingfootwear comcev outwardly,such doubled sheet only occupya seam at thejunction of th@ doubled sheet A ting through such pile of sheets by a`single d 'A n another region joins the outer sheets directly qtogether.

10. The method of making rubber footwear comprising placing a doubledsheet of rubber between a portion of two outer sheets of rubber, cuttingthrough such pile of sheets by asingle outline die which in the regioncommon to the doubled sheet and the two outside sheets forms twos'urrnounting cut seams respectively between an outer sheet and theadjacent leafof the doubled sheet and cuts g through all of the sheetsoutside of such seam and in .another vregion joins the two, putersheets; .directly together and cuts throughv them outside ofsuch seam,and in another re\ gion cuts through fthe-two outersheets without makinga seam. p

11. A method of making rubber footwear comprising placing a doubledportion for the sole'between two. rubber sheets for the sides, pressingsuch pile of sheets by a single die having its edges formedjto join thetwo rubber sheets together at the front and to join each sheet to thesole at the bottom by means of cut seams, and to cut through the twosheets at. the rear of the Asole port-ion to leave an open heel.

12. A method of making rubber footwear comprising placing a doubledportion forthe sole between two rubber sheets for the sides,

pressing such pile of sheets by a single die having its edges-formed tojoin the two rubber .sheets together at the front and to join each Ysheet to the Sole at the bottom by means ofcut seams, and to cut throughthe two sheets at thetop to leave an open top.

v13. The method of making' footwear com` prising placing a doubled sheetof comparatively thick material suitable for a sole .between two sheetsof. comparatively thin material suitable for the side portions and top,

' 4then joining in one operation said two sheets together by a. cutseamat the front of the footwear and at' the Sametime joining each i ofsaid sheets to the doubled sheet at the edge o of the sole. j I j 14.The method of making footwear ,comprising placing a doubled sheet ofrubber for the sole portionbetween two sheets of rubber for the sideportions and top, thenjoining `inone operation said .two sheets togetherby l a seam at the .front of the footwear andat the same time joiningeachside` sheet to the doubled sheetatthe edge of the sole, andthereafter flattening out the doubled sole and vulcanizing it in vthatcondition.

15. The method of making footwear comprising placing a doubled sheet forthe sole between two other sheets for the sides and top, joining thesole to the sides and joining the two sides together at the top by cutseams and at the same time cutting such portions free from the externalstock, thereafter unfolding the sole to make it flat, .and vulcanizingthe article while the sole is in that condition.

16. The method of making articles of plastie material comprising placinga doubled sheet between two other sheets, joining each outer sheet tothe adjacent leaf of the doubled sheet, joining the two sheets directlytogether in another region by cut seams, thereafter unfolding the doubleportion, inserting a temporary former adjacent such unfolded portion andcuring the article.

17. The method of making' rubber footwear comprising placing ardoubledsheet ofrubber for the sole between two other sheets of rubber for thesides and top, joining the sole to the sides and joining the .two sidestogether at the top by cut seams, and at the same time cutting suchportions free from the external stock, thereafter unfolding the sole,inserting a removable plate extending across the line of fold in suchsole, and vulcanizing the article.

18. The `method of making footwear com-` prising inserting a doubled'portion' forlthe low bevel which forms a cut seam between the sidesheets at the front and another 'beveled portion hichforms a cut seambetween the sides and the sole, and another portion which issufficiently sharp to cut through the side sheets without joining them.v

- vIn testimony whereof, we hereunto aflix our signatures. Y

' FRED THoMAsfRoBERTs.

ALBERT J. nLDoN.

